Viking Tea Party

My Dear Boy...

This Jayne Hat is the first knitting project I completed after learning to crochet and kind of abandoning knitting for about a year.  I purchased this awesome kit from Heather Hill.  I cannot stress how cool the kit was! The envelope came stamped with Serenity themed stamps, as if it had traveled from Ma Cobb to me just as Jayne's original hat traveled.  The pattern came in sleeve protectors - nice! - and included the letter Ma Cobb sent to Jayne with the hat in the Firefly episode, "The Message".  And not only did it come with a handy premade pom pom but she also included stitch markers.  This designer thought of everything.  The colors were dead on and the Lamb's Pride was a dream to knit with - I have no idea why I've never used it since. 

This is my go to hat when it's really cold outside - especially if it's snowing.  It's comfy and crazy warm.  I get lots of comments but not once has anyone ever actually recognized it as Jayne's hat. 

This was taken in Ohio in January of 2009 when we had record amounts of snow.  Matt was visiting hence the silly "taking a picture of someone taking a picture" picture. 

And to prove that it really is my go to snow hat - another snowy photo.  This one was taken in front of the cathedral here in Salisbury this past January.  

I love this hat and will never be too old to wear it.  :)

 

Click this link if you'd like to read other Knit & Crochet Blog Week entries for day six.

Tags: knitcroblo6

Happy Easter!

How I Learned to Knit and All of the Wonderful Things That Came With It

No finished projects or places to post about.  I could take a picture of any room in the house to show you the upside down and inside out state it's in but that would just depress me.  So what does one do when you've nothing to write about and your last post was five days ago?  Delve into the past. 

I recently celebrated my fifth knitting anniversary!  It feels like I've been knitting much longer than that.  I don't remember why I wanted to learn to knit - probably a blog that I read - but I remember buying one of those seven dollar "Learn to Knit in a Day!" books from JoAnn Fabric, some cheap yarn (some itchy blue TLC yarn if I remember correctly), and, I think, some metal needles.   All of it was put aside in frustration pretty quickly.  Eventually the mother of a friend even tried to showed me how to knit but I just couldn't get the hang of it.  

Determined to learn, I asked for Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch for Christmas. 

And I learned to knit!   

I then bought two skeins of Homespun (the last two skeins of Homespun I ever bought) and some giant pink size 15 needles and knitted my first scarf in Pepto Pink and Blackish-Gray - the Go-Go Garter Scarf from Stitch 'N Bitch.  One end is wider than the other due to many, many picked up stitches but I wore it (a few times), loved it and, of course, still have it.

I soon joined a Yahoo Meetup group for Columbus knitters and met up with one of the members.  I remember that it felt really awkward - meeting a stranger you have potentially one thing in common with.  The cafe downtown where we were going to meet was actually closed but she waved me down from the sidewalk, thinking I looked like a knitter, and, since she had ridden the bus, I drove us to a Caribou Coffee.  She was twice my age and I can't remember what we talked about but she helped me out when I dropped a stitch on my second scarf, Ribbed for Her Pleasure.  Later on she mentioned the meet up on her blog and that's when I received my first knitting compliment.  I gave good gauge. 

I met up with her and a bunch of other knitters another time at a cafe a few blocks from my apartment but I only met up with them once.  Living in Columbus was a strange time for me.  It wasn't exactly a friendly city to begin with and, even though a knit group is a great opportunity to meet friendly people, I can be kind of shy.  Plus the parking stunk and I hated to go anywhere if there was a chance I would have to struggle to find a place to park in an area I wasn't familiar with.  Freakish, I know.  That strange antisocial part of me still has a fear of calling people - I can answer the phone with no problem (thankfully, my nine year receptionist job was more about answering the phone than making calls) but I get a little nauseous when I have to call someone, especially a stranger. Anyway, I digress.  About the only thing I remember from that night was that a girl there was knitting an ENORMOUS bag. That was when I first heard of felting.  

I knitted a lot of scarves that year for Christmas.  Scarves that I would deem HORRIBLE now but they were made with love and I had lots of fun making them. 

It was nothing but scarves for a long time.  Eventually, though, I knitted the Chinese Charm Bag, again from Stitch 'N Bitch.  Of course, all of this was knitted with the limited supply of yarn you could find at JoAnn's.  It wasn't until I took a vacay to Sanibel Island, Florida that I first ventured into a knitting shop (this one, I think).  I had no idea what I was doing and ended up with a very small, very expensive ball of novelty yarn that eventually used in two projects that I never ever wore (a head band an a wrist band). 

It wasn't until I moved back to Dayton that I really learned what yarn was all about and, strangely, I bought my first skein of useful yarn online.  I had no idea that there was a yarn shop - albeit not one of my favorites - right down the street from my office.  That yarn, Noro Kureyon, became one Kolenya Fingerless Glove and gave me my first taste of Second Anything Syndrome.  

Ravelry changed everything for me like I'm sure it has for a countless number of knitters.  There I not only found a wealth of patterns and ideas and the ability to try new things, I, most importantly, found friends. Some I already knew but got to keep in touch with in a different way - Delly, Miss V and Bertha (I first heard of Ravelry through her blog).  And one particular new friend - a fellow Alan Rickman fan.  And then there were the real life friends - a maid of honor, a photographer and a small group of people who met every Sunday night for coffee and knitting.  I loved the silliness, support and camaraderie of the group and the drive home chats with Ginny and the way my yarn would smell like coffee when I brought it out at home later that night or the next day.  

Now I knit nearly every day and am making more new friends via Ravelry and another Sunday knit group here in Salisbury.  For all this I think I'm very lucky to know what to do with two sticks and a ball of yarn.

Yet Another Hat

I had to knit this hat for two reasons.  One, the pattern is called Acorns and two, when I purchased it, a portion of the proceeds were going to Haiti relief.

Suddenly I can't stop knitting hats.  First Odessa, now this and I've already got another on the needles - Minerva - and the patterns and yarn for a Sloochie and a Ripley waiting patiently in my knitting basket. 

 

And then there's the sock pull I'm feeling.  I read a little of a pattern from the most recent issue of The Knitter before taking a little nap today and I had dreams of sock knitting.  Obviously this reading before sleep thing really influences my dreams because, after reading his blog the other night, I had a dream I was dating Jorge Garcia ("Hurley" from Lost).  In case you were wondering, Dream Date Jorge was very nice and rather shy.

Ahem, I digress.  Back to the hat.  I used the Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Amber Heather that I had left over from my FLS and size 7 needles.  I added one repeat of the lace pattern horizontally because I wanted a hat that was less snug.  If I were to knit it again, I would delete the last vertical repeat of the pattern so that I wouldn't have to fold over the brim to make it fit.

In other news, I made a rhubarb crumble today and, I have to say, it was freaking fantastic.  I used this simple recipe - seriously, only six ingredients - and was afraid it was going to be terrible.  I couldn't even wait until after dinner to find out so we had dessert first.  Thankfully, it was slightly sweet and perfectly wonderful.  It's a quarter after eleven now and much too late for a dose of sugar but I'm awfully tempted to have a second serving....  

Oh!-Dessa

My days of knitting and crocheting non-stop are coming to an end but at least it's for a great reason: my parents are coming to visit for the last two weeks of March and there are so many things we'd like to do around here before then.  For now, though, I knit.  A lot.

This week I knitted up another incredibly popular pattern, Odessa. 

I used a fantastic yarn by Colinette called Cadenza that I picked up several skeins of in both this shade, Summer Berries, and an beautiful blue called Adonis Blue at Burford Needlecraft on Monday.  It's incredibly soft and knits up wonderfully - plus it has a sweet price tag of only £4.50 (with 15% off while we were there - hooray for surprise sales).

I loved the pattern, too.  Without using beads, it's delightfully monotonous although I have to say I fell asleep a bit during the decrease rows and had to back up quite a few rows to fix my mistake. 

As much as I love the yarn and the pattern, I'm not really sure how much I like the hat on my head.  It doesn't flatter my chipmunk cheeks at all.  I blame all the butter, cheese and bread I've consumed over the last four months.  Regardless, I've already worn it quite a bit - it's really comfy.  

I'm going to add a new segment to Viking Tea Party in the next couple of days that I hope will be amusing to those on both sides of the pond.  :)

Restlessly Seeking Inspiration

I've been feeling creatively restless recently which means I'm not sure when I'll ever finish a project.  Until I can, here are a couple that are unfinished....

 

Fetching because I thought, after 14,172 projects, is was time for me to hop on the bandwagon.  I've had a skein of Malabrigo Silky Merino in my stash for awhile now and I wanted a pair of short arm warmers.  I've knitted the thumb once but it looked horrible.  Like lots of other people, I have trouble with thumbs.  I haven't quite felt like giving it a second try but I'd better do it soon and cast on the second one or it'll might be a long time before I ever get to wear them.

 

And a little pink and orange project that I'll reveal when it's finished.  Lots of color, though, right?

I picked up some Rowan Cocoon the other day...

 

...and have cast on two different hats but my allergies were so bad that night that I was messing up left and right so I frogged both of them and haven't given them much thought since. 

Nothing really makes me want to knit.  I need inspiration before I watch so many reruns of Buffy, Angel, Veronica Mars, House, Gilmore Girls, and NCIS that my eyeballs just fall out of my head.

What are you working on these days?

It's Snowing in Salisbury!

Even though we had watched the weather several times yesterday and even had a look at the BBC weather web page, neither of us really believed we were going to get any of the predicted snow.  Just before we went to bed, Matt took one last look outside and there is was...SNOW!  We almost threw on some warm clothes to head out for a walk right then but it was really late (the holiday break has really gotten our days and nights mixed up) and the doors to the cathedral close would be locked so instead we set the alarm and got up early this morning to walk over to the cathedral to take a few photos.

Snow is not as common here as it is in Ohio so there were lots of photographers out and about.  And kids rolling giant snowballs.  When we walked by the cathedral into town a few hours later there were half built snowmen everywhere.

I'm sure I'm not alone in the thought that this lamp post reminds me of Narnia and with the snow on the ground today I really wouldn't have been surprised to see the Faun wander by.

Eventually the snow started really coming down and we decided it was time to head home but I had a chance to squeeze in a few more pictures including this comparison shot.

Unfortunately, I've never seen the cathedral without this scaffolding and it's not coming down until 2015.

And if ever a dog needed a sweater...

So now I've had my first English snow.  On the walk home I, unfortunately, couldn't help but think that I was really looking forward to my first English summer.  Snow is pretty but I think I prefer picnics on the cathedral lawn rather than snowmen.

And now on to some knitterly things.  After knitting this little bear for my mom (and another one for Matt that I still need to snap a photos of), I've fallen in love with knitting toys.  Knowing this, Matt spotted me flipping through Knitted Wild Animals by Sarah Keen at Waterstones and decided it would be a good Christmas present (the man is really good at picking out knitting and crochet books without my help, too - lucky me!),  Even though it was the hippo pattern that hooked me, I cast on the alligator first and got all the way from the tip of his tail to the beginning of his body and realized the odd skein of green I was knitting with wasn't really going to be enough and would perhaps leave me with a legless gator so I set him aside, unable to frog him quite yet but also unable to start him over in another green because I was a bit tired of the moss stitch used to make him scaly.  Instead I started the tiger since the Year of the Tiger begins on February 14th and I was born under the same symbol in 1974.  I've only finished two of the thirteen pieces you need to knit to make him but he already reminds me of Hobbes and that can only be a good thing. 

Speaking of snow and Calvin and Hobbes, I used to love it when Calvin made snowmen!

Something Warm and Cozy

We've had a really quiet weekend around here.  Friday night we drove to London to see Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra which was wonderful and funny but it takes up nearly an entire day to drive there and back (especially if, on the way home, you take the "scenic route" through the city rather than going around it) so we've laid low and stayed home for the past couple of days. 

Yesterday I was able to finish up my Baird scarf so that I could wear it to knit group today.  I love this scarf.  After thirteen issues of The Knitter, this is first project I've immediately cast on and actually finished.  It's also probably the silliest reason I've ever had for knitting something: Baird is my mom's maiden name.  And it was a quick easy pattern, of course.  It's not like it was a bag with lace and 200 million bobbles like the Beachcomber Bag I started in October - I wouldn't have been able to finish it in a couple of days no matter how hard I tried or what it was called.  

Anyway, like I said, I love this scarf.  It's incredibly warm and cozy.  And I knitted it with the giant, pink, plastic size 15 needles that I knit my very first scarf with years ago. 

Thanks to this project I am also no longer frightened by the word "Kitchener" which means I'm that much closer to giving knitted socks another go....

Part of me was really close to skipping knit group today but I'm really glad I went.  It's nice to hang out with a group of girls once in awhile.  And I may not have come home and redecorated my tree like I said I would, Squiblet, but I am much more in the Christmas mood than I was when I woke up this morning! 

I came home to a wonderful treat, too - Matt had straightened up the front room and carried the now ransacked Christmas decor boxes up to the spare room so the room is all pretty and begging to be decked out in holiday cheer.  That's a fantastic early Christmas gift in itself. 

Matt is taking tomorrow off for our six month anniversary so tree redecorating is definitely the to do list as well as, hopefully, taking a trip to Stourhead if the weather cooperates. 

So here's to, as my friend Maggie would say, keeping your pecker up (which doesn't mean what you think it does) and looking forward to a very happy Christmas.  

Side note with no connection to anything else in this post: Kevin Spacey is doing these camera commercials here that I, at first, thought were kind of annoying but I've recently found myself absolutely transfixed by them.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find my favorite one where he wants to write his number on Life's arm and say, "Hey, let's make great pictures together."  I love that one. 

Not Quite Ebenezer Scrooge But a Distant Relative...

Christmas is trying to work its way in around here but its having a hard time of it.  We packed up a box of gifts for my brother and parents and shipped it out on Tuesday which reminded me again that I won't be in Ohio for Christmas.  I was able to do the shopping and wrapping with my brain shut off but sending it off just brought it all back.  I put all of my Christmas music in a playlist today so that I can add it to my iPod again and I'm thinking dear, sweet Bing's "I'll Be Home for Christmas" just might have to be left off this year. 

I did get the tree up and decorated.  Granted, I fell over a couple of nights later.  Thankfully only one ornament was damaged and even it can be repaired and the cat that I suspect might have been lingering beneath the tree when it toppled fled upstairs and stayed there for quite some time. 

Sadly, I haven't had the heart to redecorate it.  I really meant to go at it with Christmas carols and a mug of hot chocolate this afternoon but...the ornaments are still in baskets sitting on the couch.  There are a few decorations in the conservatory as well, including a miniature tree, but they're not officially out and the tree is bare. I did watch the first two episodes online of Kirstie's Homemade Christmas that I'd missed so that I could watch the last here in about fifteen minutes and was hoping I'd feel myself sinking into the Christmas spirit.  Nope.  Perhaps it's time to pull out the big guns and watch Elf or The Christmas Story.  Matt's never seen The Christmas Story so I'm really looking forward to watching it with him - maybe this weekend.

I've been doing a lot of knitting and crocheting for Christmas that I'd like to share but I'm running out of time and I really would like to have a cup of that hot chocolate I mentioned a few minutes ago so I'll just share my favorite - a bear for my mom.

 

 

This is my first knitted toy and I'm really happy with it.  Rebecca Danger's patterns are cute and easy to follow - and I already have a couple of others in mind that I'd like to knit up - especially this guy.

Herman the Enigmatic Bear knitted with Rowan Alpaca Cotton.  

And now I'm off to chase the spirit a little bit more....

Funny Mishaps and Upsetting News

Our first Thanksgiving meal was a surprising success.  I managed to only miss something on a recipe once and realized it before it was too late so the pumpkin pie was delicious and not overly pumpkin-y due to a complete and utter lack of cream.  This is seriously a big deal for me because I'm terrible when it comes to reading directions and have screwed up more than one recipe by skipping something or adding too much or too little of something. 

We had one other near mishap that was quite funny.  I had bought double cream to make whipped cream but realized during dinner that not only do we not own a mixer but we don't even own a whisk!  Just the other day a contestant on Come Dine With Me had spent an hour mixing his whipped cream by hand.  We were in trouble because pumpkin pie - especially 'hard to come by in England' pumpkin pie - really needs whipped cream.  We tried using a fork for a little while but thank goodness my husband has a bit of MacGyver about him.  After a few minutes of rummaging through the utensil drawer, he came up with a tea strainer (not a tea ball but one like this) and attacked the bowl of cream again.  It worked!  So if you're in a pinch - no mixer, no whisk - we can attest that a tea strainer works. 

That night I also realized something a little upsetting when, thinking I would knit a few rows before bed,  I picked up my Gooseberry Cardigan.  It wasn't that my glaring mistake was still haunting me either - I finally ripped that back.  It was the discovery that when I knit, I hurt.  The muscles below my thumb start to burn after only a few inches of knitting.  It wasn't a sudden discovery - there's been faint pain for a little while now - but it had gotten to the point where I had to force myself to finish even one row and that was a real worry.  I cast on a Thorpe hat for my dad yesterday (because Christmas knitting stops at nothing) and knitting on large bamboo dpns didn't seem to bother me as much as I was able to get about a third of it done before I had to stop.  Thankfully it also seems that it doesn't effect crocheting at all.  It does effect typing on a keyboard, though, because it aches enough now that I'm not going to type much more. 

I'm knitting the cardigan on size six/4.00 metal needles and I know that metal needles have given me a little pain in the past - enough that I remember replacing a metal circular with bamboo on a project - but nothing like this.  I don't have a bamboo size six circular but ordered one yesterday because I'd really hate to send the cardigan to the UFO pile.  And, damn, I'm afraid of not being able to knit anymore.  I'm also going to watch some knitting videos and see if there's something I can change about my technique that might help.  It might be a really good reason to finally learn how to knit continental.

Hope that those of you who celebrate it had a wonderful Thanksgiving!